Dr. Linelle Blais is currently a Professor of Practice in the Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences and Associate Director of the Executive MPH program, Prevention Science Track at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She is also the Executive Director of Emory Centers for Training and Technical Assistance, a center for public health practice that provides capacity building, training and technical assistance, professional and organizational development, planning and evaluation services to governmental and non-governmental health professionals, organizations and communities at the local, state, national and international levels. Her professional interest is in making it easier for people, communities, and organizations to implement public health in real world practice. As a health psychologist, her focus is on individual, community and organizational change, and she is a professional facilitator. She has over 30 years of experience using public health approaches and providing training and TA services to a variety of community, state, and national public health partners through culturally responsive approaches. Her experiences include development, diffusion and dissemination of programs to practice nationwide, leading strategic planning, evaluation and facilitation efforts, and designing pipeline initiatives and learning strategies that network professionals and mobilize all communities, especially those at greatest need.

Emory Centers’ mission is to advance the practice of public health through capacity building and health equity in partnership with the public health workforce and communities nationwide. We are comprised of four subcenters, each with a dedicated focus: 1) DTTAC – scaling a nationwide workforce for diabetes prevention, including training of the nationwide workforce of lifestyle coaches for the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program; 2) EnCORE – capacity development of HIV community-based organizations; 3) TTAC - workforce professional development, strategic planning and community engagement; and 4) PEQI - program evaluation and quality improvement. Emory Centers also leads three health equity coordinating centers: the Diabetes MATCH Initiative (CDC) – Mobilizing Access Through Capacity-Building and Health Equity, the Emory COMPASS Coordinating Center for HIV organizations in the Southern US (Gilead Pharmaceuticals), and the Self-Made Health Initiative (Patient Advocate Foundation) for State tobacco control programs in low-resourced communities.